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Welcome To CVEA

Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association is a non-profit organization of professional valuers and real estate agents.CVEA is a body which brings together property valuation & real estate agents organizations that represent valuers, real estate agents and related property consultants employed in private practice, business and industry, the public sector, and education, as well as some specialized groups that interface frequently with the profession.

‘In a free market economy, the weak developers will die’

Experts in the sector have long had differing opinions on the Kingdom’s real estate industry. However, optimists stand their ground on their unnerving positivity that this sector will continue to strengthen in the future, due to the in-pouring of foreign investors regardless of the first property wave that has since passed.

Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA), candidly presented Post Property with the possible opportunities and challenges that the industry could face in the future.

In the first trimester of 2017, what was the real estate sector like? In the first trimester, there was an overall improvement with apartment units for rent in the city centre. In Cambodia’s climate as a free market economy, you’ll be wiped out if you’re not strong enough. About 10 years ago, it would be possible for investors to survive in the market with a building of five to eight storeys tall. Now, investors need to invest in apartment buildings with at least 10 to 20 storeys, in order for people to live there. Hence, in a free market economy, the weak will be made redundant – people will move away from old apartment buildings to newer, better models.

The same can be said about condos, in which those completed have already been put in the market one by one.

This sector will compete with the apartment sector, since both sectors are characteristically similar to each other. Therefore, only those with a strong hold in the market can keep their places, but those who are clueless followers will face a lot of challenges along the way.

What can be said about the borey market climate? I don’t see any existing problems in boreys. However, borey developers are shifting their target again. Previously, borey developers usually focused on people within the high and middle income bracket, but right now, the market for that is overflowing with excessive supply. Home-living units ranging in prices from $20,000-$30,000 are selling like hot cakes, and it’s very unlikely that this market will be oversupplied. This is due to the 80,000 industrial laborers, the 20,000 people in service, and another 10,000 government workers – a total of one million people who are in desperate need of suitable housing, but are unable to afford a house that costs above $30,000. Therefore, the optimum price for borey units should be from $20,000-$30,000.

This year, there has been a significant amount of construction. However, the returns have been disappointing. As for last year, the returns were a bigger success due to the high pricing in houses.

What is the evolution of land value? Did demand increase? If we’re talking about land in the city centre one can say that it is very hard to acquire since the only land left to buy belongs to the wealthy, which means that it’s very unlikely that this land will decrease in price any time soon. This is different from five years ago when most land was still owned by the original owners.

Last year, I thought that land value would drop due to the upcoming election, which is why it is strange that land value is being hiked up this year as the election looms ahead. This is due to the large amount of incoming foreign companies, especially those from China.

Currently, it doesn’t look like the land value will budge, because everyone thinks that the value will decrease during election, and since everyone thinks the same thoughts, everyone rushes out to buy lands. Therefore, the value will remain high.

Do you think that there will be many new projects this year? We’re seeing a lot of low-cost housing projects blooming in every direction of the outskirts of the city. There is already a great number of construction in the city centre, so it’s unlikely that there will be many new projects in the city this year.

The sales rate for condos and housing in general supposedly dropped a lot. How accurate is this? This depends on each individual’s sales tactics. From what I’ve seen, in 2013 and 2014, developers get returns double or triple the amount. However, in 2017, developers would still profit no matter how much the sales increase or decrease. It’s only a matter of whether that profit is big or small. Five years ago, selling a condo got you twice or thrice the amount of money you put into construction, two years ago it was double the amount. Now, you’ll drive a profit of at least 50 per cent. Thus, developers will still profit, the only problem is that the profit is smaller, due to relentless competition, and the increasing quality of construction.

At this stage, many people as well as investors are worried. What and what should they not be concerned about? They should worry if their land and house registered with banks, since they are capable of suffocating you for your money. On the other hand, people who are not in debt with the bank shouldn’t worry about anything. In this period, there will be a group of people waiting to buy your properties if they are priced at a reasonably low value.

Should you construct new buildings in this climate? During this period, if you have enough money and are not dependent on anyone for your construction budget, you definitely should do it because five years ago, constructors used to rely on buyers’ money to build something – that was then. Right now the trends have shifted, and it could yield catastrophic results if you rely on buyers’ money to finish the construction.

On the other hand, if you use your own money to finance every single stage of construction, this project will be successful due to the current low labour fees, and cheaper equipment. Therefore, the costs of the construction will be low, and profiting is almost always guaranteed, even if the amount may be small.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Source From: Khmer Post

Affordability adds to appeal of Battambang borey

While many residential borey developers are poised to capture the market in Phnom Penh, Ear Veng Mong, CEO of Borey Rom Chek in Battambang city’s Rom Chek village, set his sights further afield with his residential investment plans. Post Property caught up with Veng Mong to understand the reasons behind his decision to develop a borey in the northwest region of the country.

Why did you select Battambang to develop your borey? I see that a lot of the people living in Battambang are within the medium income bracket and who are able to afford my residential housing. It also has great potential in the future because government officials, through the Ministry of Tourism, are currently concocting a plan to make Battambang province into a tourism hot-spot.

What are the unique qualities of Borey Rom chek? This borey is located in Battambang city, an area which consists of schools, universities, markets, and banks. The homes are sold at a suitable price in order to enable locals within the medium income bracket hailing from Srok Komreang, Phnom Prek and Sampov Loun to be able to afford them. The people from these districts purchase the property for their children who will likely seek education in the city. The flats in this borey are priced at $8,000 for E0 type houses, and $57,000 for E1 type houses. The flats are measured at 64 square metres.

What is the success rate of the borey to date in terms of sales? We have successfully sold about 400 units, in which 150 units were sold in 2015. Our big sell-off came in 2016 when we sold 250 units. Our success stems from a handful of factors – first, suitable pricing that enables people within the medium income bracket to afford [the units]; second, the great design and decoration of the infrastructure; third, a construction that relies heavily on quality, appearance, and 24-hour security.

When did the construction for Borey Rom Chek start? I started off with filling in the land in order to commence the construction of the development in 2004 on a 19-hectare plot of land. Then we began to build the houses in the land-filled area in 2015. At first, we only wanted to build 200 houses in the area, but after immense support from the locals, we decided to go with 500 houses.

How many stages are in the construction of the borey? When is it set to finish? I’m planning to have three stages in the construction of the borey. In the first stage, there will be 500 houses, a market and an operating modern cinema with the capacity for 300 people, since youths are the biggest money spenders. This will perhaps be put into action at the end of 2017 or the start of 2018. For the second and the third stages, I will expand further on the land by 20 hectares, in which 3,000 houses are built upon. I have already invested about $35 million; and by the end of this project, I will have spent about $50 million.

What are your plans for the future in order to ensure a long-term viable development for the residential project? I’m trying to figure out how I can set an even lower price for each unit so that many more people will be able to afford it. Right now, our two-storey house costs $57,000.However, I have another plan to build a $40,000 house that also has two storeys but with a bit of tweaking to the structure.

Are there any plans in store to add villas to Borey Rom Chek? I don’t have any intention to build villas as they cost a lot of money to build, making them ridiculously expensive, which is of no use to customers in the province.

Source From: PHNOM PENH POST

Rising to the top in Toul Kork

A prototype of the development with Group GM Chang Hui Jen. Photo supplied

Come October 2016, the affluently plush Toul Kork neighbourhood will welcome a new glamourous kid on the block. Hailing from Taiwan, developer Top Team International Development Co. Ltd. will erect a 34-storey, mixed-use development that will feature three underground floors – to conveniently free up the streets for parking space for its residents.

Blending in with the posh environment, Top King Building serves up its own brand of luxury, comprising premium residential units, lush office spaces, and an entire floor on the 14th level solely dedicated to be a relaxation arena. This entertainment complex will have a Chinese-Western buffet restaurant, a separate cafeteria, three multifunctional rooms, as well as other multipurpose facilities and amenities.

Its unique mixed-use elements are balanced, with the second to 13th floors reserved for office space, while residences begin from the 15th to the 33rd level. Each residential floor comprises 21 units, rounding up to a total of 399 units of one and two-bedroom layouts. A balcony in each 60.9 square metre one-bedroom unit ensures you get the best view of the bustling capital city.

No upscale condominium or mixed-use building is ever complete without a rooftop pool or a lounge bar. Top King promises the highest swimming pool – an infinity one, at that – in Toul Kork on its 34th rooftop level dubbed the official entertainment centre, where residents can kick back and laze their free time away while sipping on cocktails ordered straight from the accompanying SKY bar.

As for the first and second levels, residents are free to exercise their retail desires at the shops spanning both storeys.

Top King’s showroom in all its elegant furnishings and fittings. Photo supplied

With recent earthquake scares in nearby country Myanmar, the developers of Top King have taken measures to ensure that their debut project makes its residents as safe and secure as possible. The building’s foundation structure will be a foundation pile of 30 metres, with an additional basement raft foundation encircling a continuous wall construction to prevent potential earthquakes from damaging the building’s foundation.

Residents of Top King need not fret about options for their lifestyle necessities; with various international banks, schools, universities, clinics, and the T.K Avenye shopping mall directly opposite Top King, its location is at the zenith of opulence. For enhanced security, nearby Street 289 houses a military police headquarters.

Slated for completion in 2019, Top King at Toul Kork is a promising haven for those seeking unparalleled leisure, relaxation, and recreation within their own residential compound.

Source From: Khmer Post

Real estate and construction sector underpins job creation

Construction workers hard at work in Phnom Penh. The real estate boom is creating jobs for more than 200,000 Cambodians. Pha Lina

The real estate and construction sector continues to be an important driver for job creation in the Kingdom, with the industry creating employment for more than 200,000 Cambodians during the non-harvesting season, according to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC).

Lao Tip Seiha, undersecretary of state for the MLMUPC, said recently the real estate and construction sector was providing jobs for many Cambodians who are temporary migrants from the provinces.

When not in the farming season, they flock to the capital in search of laborious but better-paying jobs. In the rainy cum harvesting season, these workers return to their sustenance of agriculture work in the provinces.

Thus, the real estate and construction sector has become one of the largest contributors to the improving economic health of Cambodia, coming in behind the garment and tourism sector. The garment sector provides employment for an estimated 800,000 people.

Touch Samnang, project manager of local real estate and construction conglomerate Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) which employs more than 10,000 people, said most workers in this particular sector are Cambodians.

These low-skilled workers command an approximate 14,000 to 16,000 riel ($3.50 to $4) a day, while labour wages for general and skilled workers range from 16,000 to 40,000 riel ($4 to $10) per day.

Samnang also noted there has been an increase in labour wages for local workers these past few months which have helped enhance their overall livelihoods, but did not disclose the exact amount as these wages vary from company to company.

Meng Chamroeun, head of OCIC’s Olympia City development, said most Cambodian workers have not gone through proper training, leading to the inferior quality of their work, and, in turn, receiving wages in the lower rung.

“Regardless, some Cambodian workers do provide quality work, but because this sector needs many workers, we are lacking workers or skilled workers who are Cambodian,” he said.

“Wages earned by Cambodian workers are based on their skills and experience, but the average labour fee has increased, although minimally, in the last few years.”

While it is encouraging that the real estate and construction sector is prospering, there have been negative repercussions rippling through an otherwise blooming industry.

Just last month, the general department of immigration of the Ministry of Interior issued a report that over 10,000 illegal workers – 90 percent of whom were Vietnamese – have been deported since the start of this year, the bulk of which were working in the construction sector.